Marzia Bisognin's Blog, page 16

A LOVELY, RAINY DAY.

September 11th, 2016

With Felix, of course.

Yesterday Felix and I spent the day together, and so I took the chance to snap some photos and now share them with you, as well as update you on my health situation. 

So before I begin talking about the day, let’s address the stomach pain and the progress I’ve made. On Friday I had an appointment with another doctor. She simply believes that the food poisoning unbalanced my flora, and overtime I will get better. She said it’s absolutely not the pill I was taking, and she did not address the fact that even before the food poisoning event, I was not well. I asked to get some blood tests done, and she said there is no reason at this time. I’ve shown her the medicines I’m taking, and she said I should continue taking them and hopefully in a few months I will get better.

To me that was not a great solution. I want to understand what is causing me this pain, not just mask it by taking meds all the time.

So I booked appointments in Italy, and will get fully checked while I’m there. I often go back to Italy to stay with family and friends, so on my next trip, I will make time to get myself checked up. For now, all I have is meds, but I’m truly hoping that once I get all the tests done, the situation will be clearer.

Right now, thanks to medicines, I can cope with the pain, although I keep having strong headaches (on top of stomachache), acidity and rarely some nausea. I can eat for breakfast and lunch, and then just a light meal for dinner.

I’m still working out 3 days a week, and I’m trying to keep a very positive mindset to avoid triggering any worse symptoms by stressing over things. I’m just really looking forward to Italy, and for now I will continue taking what I was given by the doctors.

I will update you later on, about this, when I have test results and so on.

But now, changing subject, let’s talk about the lovely day I had yesterday!

After lunch, Felix was done with getting a haircut and working out, so I drove us to the city centre. I was happy to see that a new bubble tea place opened up, YAY!

I got their original flavour, and it was delicious, but I only drank half, cause it is a bit scary to eat and drink out when you are not sure you are going to feel bad or need to run to the toilet. So I limited myself.

The other day, I went out bowling with my friends Sophie and PJ, and we were joking about the fact that people seem to already think about Christmas, when Halloween hasn’t even come yet. When we entered the bowling, there was a Christmas display with a decorated tree – how insane is that?! haha – but when yesterday, I entered HomeSense, I felt the autumn spirit and it made me look forward to the new season. Even if I am a little sad that summer is coming to an end already.

I love the artificial flower corner. Some are just so huge!

Felix and I then quickly went to Tiger and grabbed a few art supplies.

When we came home, we drew another canvas for our ArtByMelix shop on Depop, and I think we found a really cool style! This one is my favourite so far, that we have done together.

Then I started making a soup, prepared the veggies and let them boil for a few hours. It turned out delicious!

While we were waiting for the food to be ready, we played “Overcooked” (just realised how fitting that is) and eventually, after dinner, we went to the cinema and watched “Don’t Breathe”.

It’s weird how some movies don’t get really hyped here. I see many bad ones that get lots of attention, but then when actually great ones came out, sometimes I don’t even know about them until I see them at the cinema, playing.

This one came out on Friday, here in the UK – I believe. I got beyond excited cause it’s from the creators of “Evil Dead” (we all know how much I love that movie) AND, even better, it has the same actress as a protagonist: Jane Levy. She is incredible.

Felix and I were so impressed with the movie. So much tension. You don’t get a moment to… breathe. Haha. I definitely recommend it if you are into horrors and thrillers. Nothing too gory, nothing too scary. Just well done!

Okay, that’s it. I know it wasn’t much, but the main reason why I wrote this blog post is to fill you in regarding my health issue, and let you know that I’m overall doing well. Thank you so much to everyone that understood, was supportive, and left super useful suggestions!

Marzia.

IT CAME BACK.

September 4th, 2016

I’m not feeling too well.

Remember how I had food poisoning, last week? I think it’s a bit more complicated than that…

About a month ago I went to Italy. There, I spend a day in Gardaland, and it was so great, but at lunch time I started feeling nauseous and ended up not eating a proper meal till night. When I did eat later in the day, I had really bad cramps on my stomach, but I blamed it all on the super hot weather and the strong sun hitting my head.

A day later, I was at a birthday party, eating normally, until, all of a sudden, the nausea came back. I started to feel really hot, and asked to leave the restaurant for a few minutes, so I could get some fresh air.

Walking helped, I found out that it generally always does, but doesn’t get rid of my stomach problems.

Either way, as I said, I thought it was just because of the heat, to which my body isn’t so used to anymore.

The morning after I talked to my parents about the fact that I’m having troubles, and that maybe it was a fear I have developed overtime, because less than 6 months ago I suddenly threw up at night and since then, I do think about it quite often, and especially when I’m out dining, I might react badly and need some time to calm down, by walking around.

In fact, in the last 5 months, it probably happened about 5 to 10 times that whilst with friends, hanging out after dinner, even if only watching a movie at my house, I had to stand up and move, because the nausea and cramps started to happen, but very mildly.

Then I went to Malaysia and got food poisoning, which I think triggered something much worse. If I could deal with random but brief nausea and stomach pain attacks, by simply walking for a few minutes, now I’m at a point that I can’t focus on what I’m doing during the day, and stress over dinnertime.

I thought that last week it took me longer to heal because the virus I had was strong, but I am realising that the food poisoning was just the beginning to something else.

Two nights ago, the paint got pretty intense, once again. It’s scary because Felix is currently on the other side of the world, and I’m here on my own. Luckily, I have amazing friends that made themselves available to help, and came around a few hours last night to watch a movie with me, but even then, I ended up not eating and having to take medicines because the pain was starting.

To give you a bit more of a back story, last week I booked in with a private doctor to check on me, because I felt like this “illness” was stranger than just a food poisoning. I asked him if it could be the birth control pill I take, because the one I used to take 6 months ago made me feel nauseated at night (after a few hours from taking it) and eventually I threw up. Since then I was given a more gentle pill, but about a moth ago I started to develop nausea and I’m really scared about throwing up again.

He said it was silly of me to think that could be the cause, because if I were to be sick from the pill, it would happened right away. I told him I was fine on the other for the first 6 months of taking it, and only the last 3 made me sick, so I wondered it it’s possible that side effects develop on me after a little while of being on each pill. He looked at me like I was crazy, and said it’s impossible.

That day, he also made me cry, because he crossed out things I believe might be the cause of this illness, and instead he said that I’m too anxious and that’s why I feel sick. He went on recommending anxiety meds and depression pills, and asking Felix how I was doing, anxiety wise. I tried to explain that my anxiety used to be very extreme a few years back, but I think I’m dealing with it more than well lately, and although – sure, the anxiety might be making this situation all worse – I do think there is something more to it. I feel different, the pain is different. I never ever had troubles with meals, or the food I ate (other than dairy products, because of my lactose intolerance).

I have been eating a very healthy diet lately, I have been working out 3 times a week for half a year, I don’t stress over work or study and I don’t smoke or drink coffee. I am happy. So if it really was due to just stress and anxiety, this should have occurred years ago, not now, when I am at my best.

 

Anyway, I left his office feeling awful about myself, because a doctor I requested took about 3 minutes to look at me and judge the situation, without properly listening or running any kind of tests.

For a few days after that I felt bad, but eventually started feeling better and managed to eat properly, as usual. I was totally relaxed, and glad that it was over. But then, as I said, it came back.

So I booked another appointment, with a different doctor, and this time I will insist to get blood tests done and ask if she can look into my problem seriously.

I read online that most doctor, when you have these kind of symptoms, simply brush it off saying it’s anxiety, but trust me – I’m sure there is more.

I was in so much pain again that I’ve decided to quit taking the pill. I couldn’t go on, if there was a chance that it was the cause. It’s been 2 days and no improvements, but I need to give it some time. I’m really hoping that by stopping it, the side effects will go away and everything will go back to normal; but who knows, maybe it is something more serious.

For now I have some medicines that help, in case it gets really bad. I’m just tired of feeling this way, because in the beginning it was a problem that I could deal with, but after the food poisoning event, it’s taking over my days. I can’t seem to focus on studying, I don’t have the energy to be in front of the camera, and other than taking walks out with the pugs or doing small tasks in the house, I can’t seem to get up to much.

To describe a bit the pain: it begins around 6 in the afternoon (although lately, after breakfast and lunch I develop a mild stomachache, while digesting the food) with gas reaching my throat. A lot of it, it keeps coming up. Then the nausea comes, and that’s the scary part to me. Eventually stomach cramps start as well, and my stomach makes a lot of noise. I need to keep going to the toilet. It’s very painful, and I can’t think about food, I can’t look at food. I can’t even watch a movie. I go to bed really early, because my body is shaking, and can’t cope with the situation and just want to sleep.

I’m really trying to be positive, keep working when I feel well, and study a few pages a day (when normally my daily productivity is much higher than that).

I’m truly hoping that:

a) either it was the pill, and now that I’m not taking it anymore, the side effects will fade over time;

b) my doctor appointment will go well, I will get my tests done and they will find what’s wrong and properly treat me.

 

I understand it’s not a terrible illness, but because it’s becoming chronic, it is a problem for me, and I really look forward to get some answers.

My appointment is on Friday, so I will keep you updated, as soon as I have more info to share. For now, if you have suggestions on what this could be (from what I’ve gathered it sounds like IBS, but could be so many other things) and suggestions on what I can eat or do to help my digestive system.

 

Thank you for reading this super long post. I just needed to let you know about my health situation, at the moment.

 

 

Marzia.

GROCERIES.

September 1st, 2016

There is a new shop in town!

It’s called Kernel of Hove, and it’s a vegetarian and vegan grocery store.

To be fair, Brighton and Hove have great option for ‘veggie people’: lots of restaurants, products and so on, which is great! But when I got a leaflet from this new place, I got really excited.

I saw it a few weeks ago, right before leaving from Malaysia. I told myself I would buy from here as soon as I got back, but my food poisoning slowed me down. Now that I’m all better, and the weather outside is lovely, I went for a walk and reached the shop!

Because I was walking, and it was my first time in there, I mainly wanted to get an idea of what they sold. I didn’t want to get too much, but I was more than happy to see that it carries some of my favourite brands, and I even discovered some amazing new snacks.

I completely forgot to pick up some fruit from outside, but hey, everything I did get is so good!

This is all, and the things I’m most excited about are:

the Kale chips; I have tasted many – most are pretty good, some are terrible, but these… there are the best. I’m tempted to run back to the shop and get more, because trust me, they are so delicious.
Vegolino; these vegan chocolate treats are insanely good. I have started buying them from the vegan restaurant in The Lanes I mentioned a few times in here – Loving Hut – but because I don’t live too close to it, I never really had a chance to stuck up on these. Now I do!
Honey Halva with almonds; yes. This is everything. It’s been years now that I have enjoyed the taste of halva, and I usually go for the standard vanilla taste, but this… this has both honey and almonds. So good.

I’m so looking forward to eating all this food. haha

 

Happy September, by the way!

 

Marzia.

TOUCH UP.

August 31st, 2016

The kitchen needed a new layer of paint.

When your house is mostly white, and it’s really old, and it didn’t use to be white to begin with… you will have to do lots of touch ups.

Today, it was time to make the kitchen feel a little ‘fresher’. 

This is what I worked with: it might look fine at first glance, but when you look at the counter, and all the cracks and stains, you can’t look anywhere else.

So I took out my “All White” paint, and painted a new, fresh layer.

It only takes about 30 minutes, but it makes such a difference!

This is the same crack I showed earlier.

The bad side of having a white house is that you need to touch up often, and any little sign of age shows right away, but the good thing is that you can fix it really easily.

Plus, painting is somewhat therapeutic to me.

And I enjoy white way too much to give it up.

Then I also remembered that I had a lovely cabinet I removed from the bathroom (I recently re-did the main bathroom) and had it sitting in the corner of my bedroom.

And so I gave that a new layer of paint as well.

It looked so much nicer all clean and in its new spot.

The kitchen doesn’t have much storage, so I placed it near the table juts so we can have a new place where to put stuff.

Not sure it will stay here, but for now it will do! I will definitely center it tho, that’s a priority – just looking at how it’s not symmetrically placed in the photo is driving me crazy.

But hey! Currently enjoying a cup of tea, happy that I finally got around of repainting the kitchen. It feels much better now.

That’s it. Just wanted to share my love for white paint.

CHILL.

August 27th, 2016

Sometimes, that’s all you need.

A little update… and giveaway!

Day 6 of recovering from food poisoning. It started to get better, yesterday I thought I was fine but then last night it came back.

Today, after eating so little for the entire week (because I would just feel sick afterwards and eventually loose appetite) I decided to go out, and get myself something delicious.

A bagel with avocado, lettuce and mozzarella. I really hope I will be able to digest it. So far, so good.

I’ve also gotten a new manicure, and I’m in love.

But anyway, the reason why I’m writing this post is actually school related.

Yesterday, after an entire day of working on it, I managed to draw my first floor plan (it was part of an assignment for my Interior Design course). At first, it was a bit daunting, but when I got into it, it was super fun, and now I’m really proud of it!

Here is a little sneak peak. Now that this is done, I can relax a bit without stressing over the deadline. YAY!

Because it’s the end of August, and school in Italy usually begins in September, I thought I should do a small giveaway —> NOW CLOSED.

Nothing too crazy, but hopefully some of you might be interested!

Revelmode recently sent me a massive care package (thank you very much!) but because there was so much stuff included, I figured I would share some with you.

So in this giveaway, there is a cool backpack that you can customise, crayons, emoji toys for you and your friends, a bottle (I have the same one and it’s great for the gym) and a few games – one of which is a mini drone!

Edited: Hey, the winner has now been selected. I usually post here the name, but in her case it’s her e-mail address, so for privacy reasons I directly notified her about it. If you have not received a message from me, you didn’t win this time, but thank you so much for joining, and all the lovely comments. More giveaways to come.

KUALA LUMPUR.

August 23rd, 2016

What an adventure!

For a little less than a week I have been travelling, and this time, the selected location was Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

Let me tell you – and show you – what I have been up to during this trip!

DAY 1

We landed on Thursday afternoon, and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that everybody speaks English here (being an English colony, it made sense). So getting around was really simple!

We got to the hotel, stayed up watching “W” (a K-drama) till 10.30pm and then fell asleep.

DAY 2

MY OUTFIT // Dress: LAZY OAF – Shoes: PULL&BEAR

Time to visit the city!

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt, which is very central, so reaching each location we were interested in seeing was just a short walk away.

And so we walked through the KLCC park, with its water shows and interesting sculptures.

Nearby, was the Aquaria aquarium, and of course, we popped in!

The otters were surely the cutest thing we saw in here. So adorable.

And Felix made a new friend.

After the aquarium, we wanted to check out a shopping mall: I had heard that on the 6th floor of the Pavilion there is a “Tokyo Street” – you know my obsession with Japan – and so we searched for it.

This giant Maneki Neko was there to greet us.

But then it was time to get ready for our romantic dinner; in fact, this day was the 19th, our anniversary.

I looked up if there was a restaurant in the KL Tower, and there was!

We booked for 6.30pm till 8.30pm, so we got to see the sun setting – it was gorgeous. Plus, the restaurant actually slowly moved around, so even if you are sitting down dining, you get a full view of the city.

The people working there recognised us, and brought us a lovely cake to celebrate! So sweet of them.

Another cool thing was to be able to see the tower lighting up and changing colour. It was so pretty!

We definitely had a lovely anniversary. And to finish it off, we went swimming at night, with the wonderful view over the Petronas towers.

❤

DAY 3

We started off the day by visiting the National Museum of Malaysia. It was a bit hard to follow everything, but it was still interesting.

This only took us a few hours, so then we walked to the Bird Park.

This place was actually massive, and Felix and I kept joking about the fact that it felt as if we were in Jurassic Park.

It was so big we actually didn’t manage to visit the whole thing, mostly for two reasons:

it was way too hot to walk around so much;
we previously booked another attraction and we had to leave.

But we did see at least 3/4 of it, so it was fine. And this area, the exotic owl one, was my favourite.

As I mentioned, we had to leave early to go some place else: the previous day we bought tickets to walk the Sky Bridge between the Petronas twin towers.

MY OUTFIT // Top: LAZY OAF – Backpack: OLIVE CLOTHING

So here I am, in the middle of it, chilling.

And this is a close up of the stunning tower. The design is insane.

In the evening, we moved to Times Square, a huge department store. In the picture, you can see the multiple floors as well as the covered “Central Park”, in which plenty of tiny shops sell all kinds of things.

We dined here, but the main reason why we came, was the indoor amusement park.

I have never thought something like this could exists – I kept thinking it was something out of Rollercoaster Tycoon. haha

 

DAY 4

The final full-day in Kuala Lumpur. I kept the Batu Caves as our last thing to do because I knew they were going to be incredible.

You get to walk 272 steps, I believe, to get up into some stunning caves, enriched with hindu statues and temples.

It was a really hot and humid day, as every other day, but we made it. When I got up I was soaked, but it was worth it!

The pictures might not show how beautiful this place truly is, but it really was a fascinating experience.

The temple in the furthest cave.

Did I mention that there were monkeys?

PACKING POINTS.

August 16th, 2016

I’m leaving again!

It’s been just about a week since I came back home, but it’s time for me and Felix to go on another romantic holiday. If you didn’t know, our 5th year anniversary is coming up!

Because I get asked a lot to share some tips on how I pack, I decided to make a quick list of stages I go through.

The first one, of course, is always a crazy mess.

I posted this on Instagram earlier, so you might have seen it, but any time I begin packing, it’s madness.

The first thing I do is to gather everything I might want to bring. Everything. Even that one thing is totally out of season but your mind convinces you that it is absolutely necessary.

Then I start to put myself together.

Depending on how many days and what kind of activities I have planned to do, I try to select pieces that go together and create some outfit options.

This might seem like it. You are done. But no! Don’t make that mistake.

Put on each outfit and check that it fits the way you want it to and each element goes as you expected. You might feel like you nailed one, but have to ditch another. In most cases, I tend to tweak a thing or two about it until I’m satisfied.

If you take a look at the previous photo, you will notice that with these pink overalls, I was thinking of matching a yellow t-shirt. When I put it on, I realised that it looked a bit childish, mainly because the two pastel colours and shapes seemed too simple together.

Instead I went for a white off shoulder top and cool sandal shoes, and I loved it!

Now that you have your outfits planned, accessories, shoes and bags should come easy. I generally pick a few items that go with most things, so I can wear them more than once in different ways.

Usually I pack much smaller luggage (I tend to travel with just the hand baggage) but this time I’m going further so I want to bring as much as I can and also leave half of my suitcase empty, for cool stuff I might buy whilst on holiday.

When I do have less space, I sketch out each item of clothing I’m brining and then pair it with others. Once an item reaches 3 matches, it goes in the suitcase, meaning that it will allow me to make the most outfits.

This list only included clothing related tips because that’s where I usually get lost sometimes: picking things that you don’t necessarily need is a luxury, but also a struggle. All the other stuff you will need, like tech, medicines, books, lingerie and so on, comes normally – you just know what you have to bring.

With clothes, things get a bit more complicated, but to me, it’s actually really fun getting to envision myself on holiday, wearing these outfits – it gets me hyped for the trip!

Now that I’m all set, I’m going to leave you with a photo of the adorable Puga-chan sleeping.

See you when I get back! Expect a blog post and a vlog.

KALE, MOZZARELLA & PASTA BALLS.

August 13th, 2016

Another cooking experiment.

Last week, at the airport, I grabbed a quick meal. I was intrigued by these “pasta balls” in the menu, and decided to try them out.

At first, I was a bit unsure if I was going to like them, but after the first bite, I fell in love with the taste.

The ones I’ve ordered were filled with kale, mozzarella and macaroni, so I got my ingredients ready and tried to recreate them. Of course, this being my first attempt, they didn’t turn out perfect, but still really tasty!

Here are all the ingredients you need. These are vegetarian and not vegan, simply because I didn’t know what to use instead of eggs, but if you have any ideas for replacements, do let me know, so other vegan marzipans can enjoy this recipe! (For the mozzarella, pick a dairy free one instead).

The first thing to do is to cook your macaroni, and I would suggest cooking it a few minutes less than written in the package, because we will cook it again later on.

While you wait for the pasta to be cooked, slice the mozzarella and kale into tiny pieces and mix them together, adding some salt.

Now that you have your pasta, mozzarella and kale all ready, take some of each and make a tiny ball with the palms of you hand, so you know the size you want them to be. I had troubles keeping the shape, so I used cling film to wrap them in and hold them together, and placed them in the freezer for about 30 minutes, but would definitely recommend leaving them longer, for at least 1 hour (I had to prepare lunch for me and Felix and did not have enough time).

Once they are hard, get them out of the freezer, unwrap them and first bathe them in the egg yolk, and then coat them in breadcrumbs.

You can then go ahead and cook them on a pan with olive oil, for 5 minutes or so – like I did – or fry them – as anyone else on the internet seems to be doing.

In my case, some of the balls started to fall apart when getting too hot, so probably frying them created a coat around them and allows them to stick better together.

Either way, it worked out pretty well!

The look of mine may not be great, as it was a bit messy and definitely a challenge to make them hold the shape (especially cause I didn’t follow a tutorial or recipe) but I got there eventually!

The taste was absolutely great, and I placed the balls in a kale bed and garnished the plate with fresh cherry tomatoes and sliced avocado.

I will surely try this recipe out again, and hopefully, with minor tweaks, I will get better at preparing them.

Have you ever eaten something like this? Any tips for me?

Marzia.

A FEW DAYS IN VENETO.

August 11th, 2016

Caorle, Treviso and Vicenza.

As you probably know, I was born and grew up in Vicenza, a city in the northern region of Veneto, Italy.

I’ve stopped by a few days to stay with my family, and meet with some friends.

Here are some photos I took, to show you around.

When I landed in Venice airport, my parents came to pick me up. We stayed a day at my aunt’s flat by the seaside, in Porto Santa Margherita, and then, on the way to another city, we stopped by Caorle, a picturesque seaside town nearby.

MY OUTFIT // Dress: VINTAGE – Shoes: URBAN OUTFITTERS – Bag: COCCINELLE

I loved strolling around all the tight and colourful streets, full of charming old buildings.

My parents told me they brought me here when I was little, but I had no memory of it, so I’m glad I got to see it, even if just for 30 minutes. Very pretty!

Then we drove to Treviso, another city not far from where I used to live, which for some reason I’ve never checked out before.

The best part about this area is that there are canals everywhere, so although the heat and sun are strong during the summer, being able to see water everywhere around you gives you the feeling of being a bit chillier. Plus, it makes everything look even prettier than it already is.

I believe most people stop by Venice only, when touring Italy, but the truth is that all the other cities in Veneto have so much to offer as well. And because they are not so well-known, they are usually very quiet.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to spot some abandoned buildings, especially since Italy is still hurting from the economic crisis, but to be fair, even unkept properties manage to look charming in this setting.

Also, most of the architecture in Italy is just incredible, and having so much history, you can easily see a gothic or medieval building, right next to one from the Renaissance period.  A stunning contrast.

So my quick visit at Treviso was very successful: it definitely left me with a good impression of the city, and would recommend others to visit it as well, if they happen to be around and have a free morning.

But now we make it to Vicenza – my city.

It’s not too different from other places in Veneto, like Verona, Treviso and Padova (you can see a pattern with layout, squares and buildings) but what we do have to offer as an extra, is the presence of plenty of Andrea Palladio’s work.

If you are not familiar with his name, he used to be a very important architect in the Renaissance era (he even had his own movement), that built many villas as well as important palaces, all around Vicenza. His buildings are listed from UNESCO as World Heritage.

You won’t be able to fully take in the beauty of his work until you see it in person, but to give you an idea, this is the Olympic Theatre, which mimic the ancient Roman open-air theatres.

Mind-blowing.

And this is just one example, if you look him up you will see how many more things he has done that are very impressive.

In the main square of Vicenza there is the Basilica, which is another example of his talent.

But this concludes our short tour. When I go back next time I will try my best to show you some other places in the region.

I’m also editing a video today so you will surely see more of these areas as soon as it comes out!

I’m curious: have you ever been to any of these places? If so, what did you like best?

 

Marzia.

STUDY UPDATE.

August 5th, 2016

I’ve completed my first 3 assignments!

I’m not too sure how to structure this blog post, but so many of you have been supportive about me being back to studying and asked for an update, so here is one!

First of all, everything is going really well. I am extremely interested in what I’m learning and I find every assignment to be a “fun challenge”.

I have scored a 9/10 in the very first one, about the ‘Visual Language of Design‘, in which I have learned the basics and about each design element and principal.

The second module was about the ‘History of Style, Design and Architecture‘, which I found so incredibly interesting and truly fascinating. Having a thing for travelling, I get to observe so many different buildings, art techniques and be exposed to various cultures: this chapter was very long and exhaustive, and although my tutor reassured me that was the only section about history – to be honest – I actually loved it. I learnt about the different styles from the Neolithic to the current day, focusing on each era in between. Now I can easily recognise the traits for each of them, and any time I look at a building, I’m able to point out its characteristics, influences and period.

So in the second assignment you could tell how in depth I went, and scored a 10/10!

Now, only yesterday I’ve submitted my third assignment, so I still don’t have a vote or feedback on it, but I can tell you that this latest chapter was about the different Design Styles, like Bohemian, Retro, Art Deco and Nouveau, Victorian, Zen, Rustic, Minimalistic and so on (there is so many more!). Plus, it even went in depth on warm spaces vs cool spaces, what defines them and how to make one turn into the other with a few changes – very cool stuff!

So here is where I am at. Absolutely loving the course and putting my knowledge at use any time I get the chance to.

I still have 9 more modules to go, and many more months, so I will try to update you later on, but for now, since so many of you were curious, I wanted to just write a bit about it.

If I have been a bit less present here on my blog is because work and study have been taking over, and I’m getting ready for multiple trips this month, but I want you to know that I still read every comment and I appreciate you stopping by![image error]

Marzia.